The present invention relates to aircraft using a parachute as a wing (xe2x80x9cpowered parachutexe2x80x9d) and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for storing the parachute xe2x80x9cwingxe2x80x9d of a powered parachute.
A powered parachute is a flexible wing aircraft using a parachute to provide a lifting surface. A cockpit, suspended below the wing by multiple, flexible lines, supports a motorized propeller that provides forward thrust. The parachute wing is made up of multiple cells open along the wing""s leading edge to receive air that inflates the cells holding the parachute in the proper airfoil shape. Parachutes range in size from 400-550 square feet being approximately fourteen feet from front to back and thirty-seven feet wide.
At the beginning of a flight, the parachute is placed flat on the ground behind the cockpit which rests on wheels. As the cockpit moves forward driven by the propeller, the parachute wing xe2x80x9ckites upxe2x80x9d and begins to take the shape of an airfoil. Once the wing is fully inflated, additional cockpit speed allows the parachute to lift the cockpit up off the ground.
Landing is accomplished by reducing the propeller thrust allowing the cockpit to descend to a runway. As the cockpit comes to a rest, the parachute settles on the ground behind the cockpit.
During times when the powered parachute is not in use, the parachute must be folded and stored. Proper protection of the parachute and the lines connecting it to the cockpit is necessary to prolong the useful life and to ensure safe operation of the powered parachute.
The parachute is typically stored in an envelope-shaped bag. Such storage is difficult because of the tendency of the zero-porosity parachute material to retain air and thus to balloon up inside the bag as the bag is stuffed.
The present invention provides an improved storage system for the parachute of a powered parachute. The system uses a storage pack that may be unfolded into a flat sheet providing complete access to the parachute as it is bundled in the center of the sheet. The storage pack is then assembled about the parachute by means of fasteners on edges of the sheet. This greater accessibility to the parachute during the storage process allows improved removal of entrapped air. Further, the wrapping action simplifies the storage process.
Specifically, the present invention provides a parachute pack for powered parachutes comprising a sheet of flexible material that in a first state is openable to lie flat against a ground surface and sized to receive a parachute thereupon. Fasteners positioned near edges of the sheet allow the edges of the sheet to be drawn over a received parachute in a second state, to enclose the parachute; the fasteners interconnecting to releasably retain the edges to each other.
Thus, it is one object of the invention to provide an improved protective storage pack for a parachute of a powered parachute. By allowing the storage pack to be broken down to a flat sheet, the time and effort required to pack the parachute is minimized.
The fasteners may be hook and loop fasteners.
Thus, it is another object of the invention to provide a flexible fastener compatible with the sheets and unlikely to damage the parachute.
At least a portion of the fasteners may be placed on a surface of the sheet lying next to the ground when the sheet is in the opened state.
Thus, it is another object of the invention to minimize the chance of the fasteners from snagging material on the ground.
The fasteners may provide a range of connection points to allow a volume enclosed by the sheet in the second state to be varied.
Thus it is another object of the invention to both provide a pack that is suitable for a variety of different parachutes and that allows cinching of the pack as air is removed from the parachute.
The edges of the sheet may extend in four pairwise opposed flaps and the fasteners may be positioned on edges of the flaps.
Thus, it is another object of the invention to provide a design that is efficient in its use of material and that eliminates the interference of bunching of the sheet as the flaps are drawn about the parachute.
The sheet may be a gas permeable fabric.
Thus, it is another object of the invention to provide for a path of moisture escape from the stored parachute.
The sheet may include attached straps sized to retain the enclosed parachute when the parachute is wrapped in the sheet and to hold the enclosed parachute to a structure of the cockpit.
Thus, it is another object of the invention to provide a method of storing the wrapped parachute in a fixed location on the cockpit to prevent damage to the parachute.
The flexible sheet may be part of a kit including socks comprising tubular sleeves of flexible material separable along their length by a releasable fastening means and sized to substantially cover lines attaching the parachute to the cockpit.
Thus, it is another object of the invention to provide a complete system for storing and protecting the parachute and its lines when the powered parachute is being stored.
The kit may further include straps sized to hold the stored parachute to the structure of the cockpit. The kit may also include rigid hooks sized to engage a strut of the cockpit to provide attachment points for at least one releasable strap.
It is thus another object of the invention to provide for storage of the parachute in a position other than the seat so as to provide improved access to the seat during taxiing and the like.
The present invention is particularly useful with a method of packing the parachute in which the parachute is collected by collecting the parachute along an axis extending from a front of the parachute to a back of the parachute and fan-folding the rolled parachute on the sheet to reduce its front to back dimensions. The open construction of the present pack allows a single individual to fold the parachute and compress air from the folds upon the protective surface of the unfolded sheet.
These particular objects and advantages may apply to only some embodiments falling within the claims and thus do not define the scope of the invention.